Essay:

Role of Religion

[Name of the Writer]

[Name of the Institution]

Role of Religion

According to my opinion, religion plays an essential role in human’s life. It is a set of rules, which guide individuals in a right way and gives them right direction to spend their lives accordingly. It brings prosperity and bliss for the people. I am a responsible community member and I actively participate in all the activities organized by my faith community. Although, these activities help me to grow spiritually also give me an opportunity to make good friends with whom I can share my beliefs and thoughts. Moreover, along with my friends I also participate in charity works and serve the humanity through my little services. Therefore, I am connected to my community and my faith, and I respect my religious teachings.

However, after reading the article by Cohn, I was surprised to know that only Christianity is getting declined but not all other religions like Judaism, Hinduism and Islam1. I am agreeing with the reporter that most of the people in our community are getting away from Christian traditions and values. When people stay disconnected from religious affairs, they start forgetting about the traditions and values of their religion. It becomes difficult for them get their answers, so they leave the religion. Even, people with weak concepts of religion cannot guide their children properly. As a result, their children join other groups.

On the other hand, in my family, religion is something which binds us as a family and connects us to our community. It also guides us to know our rights and responsibilities. At the same time, it teaches us to help the humanity so that God may open the door of prosperity for us. Likewise, to my community, religion is everything, it shapes our lives. It guides us to live appropriately and serve ourselves to please the God. Therefore, these experiences have shaped my life and taught me to live according to the faith I follow. Besides, it has also kept me away from many bad habits such as drugs addiction, hypocrisy, rude and prejudgments. In addition, religion plays a progressive role in well-being of person by triggering positive emotions in him or her2.In my life, my religion and faith helps me to understand so many things and even guide me to understand God better. At the same time, it keeps away from all the negative energies. In difficult times, praying gives a peace of mind and helps to think about the problem.

Even, in my circle I have seen people talking against religious beliefs. There are few reasons I mostly hear from people for leaving the church. Most of the people question the existence of God because of sufferings in the world and some of them have bad experiences at church. Likewise, due to negative experiences in their lives, people feel left out and some talk about the unresolved questions regarding the faith. One of the reports shows that due to financial security and education people of color are joining the ranks of unaffiliated3.

The trend of giving up religion among the young adult is very common in the United States, nowadays. Many of the children are raised without religion. These trends are effecting the culture of the country. People who are less concerned about the religion are more into individualism. In this cultural system, individuals only care about their own rules while ignoring the social rules. Therefore, people are getting into practices which lack social support, social rules and unity. Likewise, the society is introducing a system where individual freedom is more preferred over moral values and traditions. Religion teaches us to give respect to the state. With the decline in religion, young people are less concern about such norms. If it is not controlled in America, then there will be a disassociation in country. The communities will divide into fragments.

End Notes

Cohn N. Big Drop in Share of Americans Calling Themselves Christian. The New York Times. Nytimes.com.https://www.nytimes.com/2015/05/12/upshot/big-drop-in-share-of-americans-calling-themselves-christian.html. Published 2015. Accessed January 16, 2019.

Van Cappellen P, Toth-Gauthier M, Saroglou V, Fredrickson B. Religion and Well-Being: The Mediating Role of Positive Emotions. J Happiness Stud. 2014; 17(2):485-505. doi:10.1007/s10902-014-9605-5

Bullard G. The World's Newest Major Religion: No Religion. National Geographic. News.nationalgeographic.com. https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2016/04/160422-atheism-agnostic-secular-nones-rising-religion/. Published 2016. Accessed January 16, 2019.